


Crescendo

by GoingKnowhere



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Mentions of Sex, Multi, Romantic Soulmates, Soul Bond, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Swearing, gender neutral reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-30
Updated: 2017-11-30
Packaged: 2019-02-08 18:59:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12870969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoingKnowhere/pseuds/GoingKnowhere
Summary: ~"Are you fucking kidding me?” You hissed. The eyes of your fellow medical personal could be felt staring at you from all over the hospital floor you were on, but you only focused on the pair before you.~





	Crescendo

**Author's Note:**

> This was for [@kaitymccoy123](https://kaitymccoy123.tumblr.com/)'s The Spring Has Sprung Challenge that took place (obviously) back in the spring! She issued a challenge that writers could sign up for and would entail a combination of a character, sentence prompt, and a color. I already knew that I wanted to write for Bones, but when got my color and prompt I whooped because how can I have that assignment and not write a Soulmate fic??????? Soulmate fic’s are my weakness!!
> 
> In this Soulmate!AU, you receive a small, black, capsule-like Pill on your eighteenth birthday. Once it’s ingested, your Mark will appear within 24 hours and it will be your primary way of finding your Soulmate. Although, it’s not the only way you can find them. Skin-on-skin contact with your SM will result in a Bond snapping into place. The Bond will allow not only a sharing of emotions, but also a sharing of thoughts. It’s next to impossible to ignore the Bond once it’s been started.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!! :D

**Crescendo**

 

“Are you  _fucking kidding me_?” You hissed. The eyes of your fellow medical personal could be felt staring at you from all over the hospital floor you were on, but you only focused on the pair before you. Beneath your skin, your body was thrumming from the Bond, telling you to go to him.

 

Hug him.

 

Love him.

 

All your mind wanted you to do was punch him.

 

Or worse.

 

“[Y/F/N],” Leo pleaded, his hands held up in front of you as if you were a startled animal. “[Y/F/N], let me explain.”

 

“NO!” You roared. “You - You knew - YOU KNEW! YOU FUCKING BASTARD!” 

 

That had him wincing, but it didn’t quell the hurt in your body. Your heart. “I - Yes, [Y/F/N], I did, but you have to -”

 

“How long.” You cut him off, clenching your fists to hide the shaking. A movement of red by the door in your peripheral alerted you that someone called security, but you didn’t care right now. Besides, from the looks of it, they too wanted to see what was happening. 

 

Leo gave you a pleading look. “[Y/F/N]…”

 

“How. Long,” you demanded.

 

Defeat crossed his face, and he sighed. “Since the academy.”

 

When the words left his mouth, you went rigid, setting your jaw and tried to blink back the tears forming in your eyes. Without another word, you whipped around and marched on out of the Yorktown Medical Center.

 

You didn’t stop until you were back in your hotel room and, once the door closed, you lost it.

 

_Crash!_

 

The tulip filled vase hit the wall.

 

_Crack!_

 

Your Padd smacked the bathroom door.

 

_Thud!_

 

The coffee table was flipped onto its top.

 

On and on the destruction went.  _Boom! Bang! Snap! Rip!_  It wasn’t until the entire room was in shambles that you collapsed against the wall, sliding down to curl up on the floor, cheeks soaked from your torrent of tears.

 

Ever since you were little, you dreamed of finding your Soulmate. 

 

Of finding that person who was your predestined other half and having the Bond snap into place at first touch. Your parents were Matches; their twin snowflake-like marks located on their arms. You had front-row seats to their beautiful romance, proof of the strong soulmate Bond, and you ached to have your own. So when the Pill arrived on your eighteenth birthday, you downed it without hesitating and locked yourself in your room, completely undressing, before pacing around your room in anticipation.

 

And when it finally happened, you nearly mistook the itch on the back of your neck as a bug bite. It was a sweep of your hand - revealing no lump - that had you hastily scrambling for a mirror. When you didn’t find one, you settled for snapping a photo with your Padd and prayed it was in frame and focused.

 

There weren’t rules for displaying Marks. Some people covered them, using clothes, high-grade makeup and or the special patches. Those that did were usually traditionalists - who believed that only your Soulmate was privy to your Mark - or were in law enforcement. You, though? You bared it all for the universe to see - those beautiful lines that swooped, curved, and flicked in just the right way to remind you of a soaring phoenix. Neck-exposing hairstyles became your staple and there was hardly a single piece in your wardrobe that inched up your neck.

 

In fact, Starfleet was difficult to adjust to. The red uniform felt like a noose around your neck and your friends were always telling you to stop pulling at the collar. The day you were cleared to begin training at the hospital, and getting to wear low-collared scrubs, was a relief.

 

Until you met Leonard -  _Leo_. He was a year ahead of you - well, years ahead of you - and the moment you met his hazel eyes across the floor you knew you were fucked.

 

Everything about him - his sharp facial features and soft brunet hair, his broad shoulders and lean torso, his long legs and built up muscle mass - had you itching to touch him.

 

But you shoved it down. You had a soulmate and he, as you soon found out, an ex-wife. 

 

It felt  _wrong_ to want him.

 

So you banked on the whispers of his less-than-pleasurable personality to nip the attraction in the butt, but the months passed and the two of you grew closer - a doctor-nurse duo that ruled the ‘Fleet hospital.

 

More time passed.

 

Nero happened and Leonard got promoted, leaving you behind. You hoped the old phrase was a lie, but - alas - it wasn’t.

 

Each vidcall, each Comm, each message, had your heart aching more and more. Quick hookups didn’t help. Not in the least. So you did the only thing you could do; you pushed your feelings into a tiny box and threw away the key.

 

Then the Enterprise received new orders and he came back, but Khan’s attack fucked over your plans to meetup.

 

And after, between the confidential meetings and caring for Kirk, you barely saw a hair of him.

 

The documents declaring your posting to the  _Enterprise_ for her five year mission - to work under Leo - had you sobbing with joy.

 

It was then that you knew that there was no way you could ever be with your soulmate. Not after knowing Leo.

 

So life continued. The days blending together the deeper into The Black the ship traveled. Each moment falling more and more, your secret locked up tight inside you. Your body physically aching for anything more, but never trusting yourself with skin to skin contact.

 

Before you knew it, the  _Enterprise_ was docking at Yorktown just shy of her third year in space, but soon she was warping off again for an urgent rescue mission.

 

And then the ‘bees’ came, stealing your pod only seconds after it deployed, your captors herding everyone into holding cells once on planet. You should have been more focused on your captured crewmembers around you, but your body moved on autopilot as you checked each one over. Your thoughts had been consumed by  _What if?’s_  that you couldn’t control, each one worse than the one before it.

 

Then the air filled with shouts and the sound of phaser fire. You had stumbled when the crew around you pushed back to avoid being hit with metal when the lock was blasted off.

 

_God!_  You wanted nothing more than to throw your arms around him right then, but everyone was too frantic to get transported away.

 

The  _Franklin_ ’s Medbay didn’t give you your chance either. Just a few hurried looks before Leo was called away, not to return as you, Christine, and M’Benga tried to keep everyone calm during the onslaught.

 

When the ancient ship gave it’s final shuddering crash, everyone was in motion again. It felt like hours before you finally collapsed onto the mobile biobed in Yorktown’s hospital, physically and emotionally beat. There was something in your gut that had you picking up your head and glancing down the hectic corridor just in time to see him burst out of the turbolift, all scratched up and in a panic.

 

Then Leo’s eyes met yours, his shoulders dropped, and your heart lodged itself in your throat at the sight of him shoving his way to you. And, standing before you, his hand brushed briefly against your face…

 

Your body trembled again from the new Bond and another sob ripped its way out of your throat.

 

_He knew! God dammit, he knew!_

 

He knew the entire time and he never told you.

 

All these years - wasted - believing that you could never have him…

 

A rattling breath was drawn into your lungs, distracting you enough that you missed the knocking at your door. You did, however, hear the voice that filtered through it.

 

“[Y/F/N]? [Y/F/N], open up!”

 

You sucked in another breath, the Bond buzzing with the close proximity of Leo, and yelled, “Go away!”

 

“[Y/F/N]!” A soft thump echoed through the door. “Please let me explain,” he begged.

 

“No!” Your heart squeezed.

 

“Darlin’,  _please_!” Your head tipped back against the wall, a new wave of tears running down your cheeks as the Bond reacted to the pain lacing his voice.

 

_Shit!_

 

It was several more seconds before you weakly projected, “Okay.”

 

The door open, but you kept your eyes shut. You felt his shock even before he spoke. “Good God, [Y/F/N]!” When he finally spied you, a cocktail of  _concern_ and  _guilt_ wracked over you as he picked his way through the destruction. “[Y/F/N]…,” he trailed off.

 

A sudden spark jolted up your arm and through your body. Tugging it closer to your chest, your eyes snapped open in time to see a distraught Leo retract his hand. “Don’t,” you spat out. “Don’t touch me.”

 

_Hurt_ flashed through you.

 

“Darlin’…,” he sat down before you, his legs folded only inches from your own. You had to grip your arms tightly around your legs to keep yourself from touching him. “I’m sorry.” You took in a measure breath, trying to keep your turmoil at bay as he continued. “I - I shouldn’t have kept this from you.”

 

At least he had the decency to look ashamed. 

 

“Why,” you ground out the word, not sure if it sounded like a question or a demand.

 

Leo reached down, grabbing a stray tulip and began picking at the purple petals. “It…It was too soon. The damage from the divorce was still too fresh.” 

 

Your jaw ticked. “You still could have told me; I would have understood.”

 

He sighed. “I know, but ya gotta understand - Joce and I…we were stupid.” A low chuckled rumbled from him. “Young and stupid. We met in high school - first loves and all that - thought we knew everything. Thought we’d be soulmates. She sat with me after I took my Pill.” Leo dropped a petal, moving his hand to sit above his heart and you tipped your head with faint intrigue. He never went into detail about his marriage; just called it one of his biggest mistakes. “We were both in awe of the Mark when it appeared and she started counting down the days until her birthday. God, we should have known.”  _Regret_. “We knew people who were together with mis-matching Marks -”

 

“- And you thought you could be one of them,” you finished. Leo met your eyes and nodded. They were stupid, but you didn’t say that out loud. The only time people with mis-matching Marks were together was if one had lost their Mate or if they were passing the time until they met theirs. 

 

“She found her Mate a few years into our marriage. I didn’t know it then; I was working too much.”  _Anger. Frustration._  “Only found out ‘cause I got off shift early and found ‘em fuckin’ in our bed -” he sucked in a breath, glancing back up to you as  _affection_ flooded your veins, causing you to draw in your own shaky breath from the intensity. It took a few seconds to realize why. Having moved on it’s own accord, your hand now sat upon his wrist; boosting the emotional transference by tenfold. You wondered silently how long it would be until actual thoughts would be shared. Leo seemed to be waiting for you to remove it, but - when you didn’t - he slowly lowered his other hand to cover your own. He watched as his thumb circled around your skin. “I was a broken man, [Y/F/N],” he continued. 

 

Then he met your gaze -  _joy. attraction. joy. love. love. love._  - and you were barely able to hold back a sob at what you felt. Hazel eyes glistened with tears and a tender smile grew on his face. “And then I saw you; God, I’d never seen anyone as beautiful as you, [Y/F/N] - like an angel glowin’ under the lights. And when you turned around and I saw your Mark - I thought my heart was going to burst. I was so thrilled and so - so scared. How could anyone as beautiful as you be with someone as old and broken as me?”

 

You wanted to open your mouth, to disagree, to counteract his thoughts, but you couldn’t form the words. 

 

“I - I tried to stay away from you, but you were everywhere - on the same shift, at the same bar, in the same class - and I couldn’t help myself. Darlin’, I had to get to know you.” Leo glanced down for a moment and you took the opportunity to wipe the tears from you face. He gave your hand a small squeeze. “[Y/F/N], after the divorce,  **I never believed in soulmates until I met you.** It was so hard to be with you and not be able to touch you, but our time apart was the most grueling time of my life and I couldn’t stand the thought of being separated any longer. I fought to get you on the ship with me - had Jim back me up. 

 

So - so many times I just wanted to spill everything and - I just - [Y/F/N], I’m so sor-ry,” He voice broke with his final apology and every single feeling you had locked away over the years burst forth. With a cry as your only warning, you surged forward to wrap your arms around his shoulders, burying your head into his neck. The Bond soared when his arm wrapped themselves snugly around your body, drawing you in closer.

 

“Oh, you stupid - stupid man,” you jabbered, swatting the back of his shoulder. “You had no fucking right to keep this from me and we -” you pulled back and grasped his teary, hopeful face “- we will be discussing your stupidity later because right now I  _have_ to kiss you because I have been denied that for _way too fucking long_.” And with that, you tugged his head forward to smash your lips against his. The kiss - a bruising one of desperation - had the two of you lost in a whirlwind of emotions as the Bond - ignored for so long - swelled up in your hearts like a beautiful crescendo. 

 

It would be hours before the two of you finally left your quarters and weeks before he was left off the hook, but never again did the two of you allow your crescendo to break. 

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on [tumblr](http://goingknowherewastaken.tumblr.com/)!!!


End file.
